The Reflections of Bryn MacPhail in The Bahamas

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The Nature of Spiritual Nourishment

I am a junk food addict. If there were chips in my house every night, I would eat chips every night. I love pizza, chicken wings, and McDonald’s. I don’t like vegetables. The effects of such habits are becoming increasingly evident: my clothes are shrinking. When playing hockey (recreationally), I notice that I become winded more often (and I’m a goalie!).

My poor diet has taught me a basic principle: We need our intake of nourishment to correspond with our activities. The negative effects of eating junk food are most acutely recognized when I attempt physical activity. My wife regularly runs 3-5 km. Even my 6 year-old daughter ran in a cross country race this past Monday. I cannot imagine doing the same because of my eating habits.

I’ve noticed this same principle translates with Christian activity. I have found that those who are spiritually undernourished have diminished endurance when it comes to serving within a Christian community. Christians who do not have a regular intake of Scripture, Christians who do not regularly engage in prayer, tire and burnout more easily.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

The New Testament explains that there is enough spiritual nourishment for us all. The grace God gives is sufficient for all that is required of us.

I worry, however, that few understand the nature of spiritual nourishment. We don’t fully appreciate our need of it, we don’t fully understand the benefits of it, nor do we appreciate the frequency with which we need to pursue it.

This past Sunday I addressed the subject of spiritual nourishment, based on a section of Scripture found in John 6:27-35. I was encouraged by what I found there, and hope you might be as well. Have a listen.

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2 thoughts on “The Nature of Spiritual Nourishment”

Hey Bryn: Any chance of you posting the audio as an .mp3? I would love to get them onto my pmp to listen to them during my commute (seeing as Keegan has been too sick lately for us to attend church in person